Liquid-meter.



Patented 888.110 |901. J. C. ANDERSON. A

LIQUID METER. I

(Applicaion s No. 888,878,

led Oct. 18, 1901,)

5 Shana-Sheet l.

l (nu Model.)

emi/pum dkboznua Patented Dem l0, |90I.

J, c'. A-unensnu.

LIU'lD METER.

(Applicuon tiled Oct. 1B'. 1901.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

vwentor Wwwzooao No. 688,378. v Patentod Dec.l I0, 190|.

, J. C. ANDERSUN.

LIUID METER.

(Applimion mad oet. 1s, 1901.)

(llo Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

miki 15 llipr-iii'rhdm 4k nl/mm MM r I Gtbozmc THE NRIS PETERS CU PHOTQ UTP-IO No. mam.l Patntednec. ym, mol. J.- c. ANDERSON.

Llamo METER. (Liaplimion gled'oct. 1a, 1901.)

5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

(Ilo` Intel.)

4 ma uonms PETERS ca. Pncmruwo.. wsHluomn. o. c.

Patented Dec. l0, I90l. J. C. ANDERSUN.

LIQUID METER;

(Application led Oct. 18, 1901.) I

5 Sheets-Sheat 5.

(Ilo Model.)

a mmm aan-:555:555:29555 1H: ohms PETERS co, PHOTO-Lune.. msmNcTon, D4 c.

K:sin:nniiiinilniiissiiiiuiiiii UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. ANDERSON, HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS.

LIQUI`D-METER- sPEcIJFrcATIoN arming part o f Letters Patent No. 688,378, .dated December 1o, 1901. Applicaties filed october 18,1901. serial No. 79,101. (Numdam To @ZZ whom, it mfcty concern.'

Be it known that I, JAMES O. ANDERson, a

citizen of the United States, residing atHighland Park, in the county of Lake and State of Illinois, have invented'certain new and useful Improvements in Liquid-Meters; and Ido hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such 4as Will enable others skilled in the art to which ployed, the liquid is measured by its naturaltrend and pressure, and great frictio'nresults in the contact of the peripheries of the disks with the casing, and the trend and pressure of the Huid induce to the formation of eddies and the consequent deposit of the sedimentcontained in the fluid, which operates toretard and finally stop the action of the meter.

In the piston type of meters the liquid is? measured by actual displacement, and it h'as been found necessaryto employmore than yone piston or plunger in order to overcome d ead-centers, and lthat the multiplicity of pistons involves comparatively extensive friction, complexity lof construction, and neces- .sarily undue costof manufacture.' `It has also been found by practical experience that in the use of both types hereinbeforepreferred to when from any cause the meter is stopped and fails to register the liquid may lreadily pass through and be delivered from the meter Without any record thereof being made,

' and as a further result ofvthis imperfection in construction and operation, evenwhen the registeris operating, a greater or less amount of iuid may leak through themeterand conduits Witho ut bei n g accurately registered, and hence where such meters are usedto compute -the supply of water to consumers it follows that more Water may be used at all times than will be registered, and, as before stated, a

.comparatively full supply may be 'used when the meter Aceases altogether to register the passage of the water therethrough.

, vMy invention relates more particularly to that type known as piston or plunger meters, and has for its object to overcome all of the recited disadvantages and to provide a meter which shall accurately register all liquid passing through the same, which shall be self-cleansing, its bearings .kept in,4

vperfect adjustment at all times, and provided with means for absolutely and automatically cuttilng'off the supply of liquid whenevertheV meter fails to accurately record the passage of fluid.

It also has for its object economy of cont struction,'durability in use, and the `utilization of the full projectile force of the fluid to be measured by it. Y j

With these ends in View myin've'ntion consists of a single-piston meter in which the pisyton has a reciprocating and oscillating movement and cooperates with a recording mech-V anism to accurately register all fluid displaced by the movement/,of the piston and means co-` operating with the piston for automatically 'l shutting off-thesilpply of fluidV through the meterlwhenever f or any reason the meter fails tolre'gister the supply furnished to it.

vMy invention'consists, further, in the details of construction and arrangement for accomplishing the objects sought.

In order that those skilled in the art to which Amy invention appertains may know hoW to make the same and fully understand its operation, IWill proceed to describe the same in detail, referring-by numerals to the accom# Ypanyingdravvings, in Whicl1- Figure l is a perspective View' of my improved meter and of full size for connection with three-eighths-inch inlet and exit connections. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinalsection onthe line zaof Fig. 4. l Fig. 3 is a transverse 'section on the line oc of Fig. 2, showing the parts in a dierent position; and Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 arehorizontal sections taken on the line y y of Fig. 2 and showing th'e various positions and relations of the box-valve and pistou-Wing during the reciprocating and osvof the automaticcut-off devices being shown in d'otted lines and in position to begin to permit the passage of the fluid, the cut-0E on IOO the opposite side bearing the same relation to the other diametric exhaust-port of the piston.

Fig. 3 shows the position of the piston and its diametric ports in relative position with the automatic cut-offs when the box-valve has assumed the position shown in Fig. 5 and after the piston has moved a hal f-stroke to produce a one-fourth revolution.

Fig. 4 shows the position of the box-valve at a state of rest just before it begins its movement under the liquid-pressure and just as the piston begins the first quarter of its reciprocating movement, the initial inlet and outlet ports of the box-valve and its casing being in full register, so that the force of the fiuid may be exerted against the piston-wing to oscillate the piston, the diametric ports of which at this time are closed, as shown at Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 shows the position of the box-valve and wing after the piston has traveled onehalf of its longitudinal movement to the right, or in direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, in which position the second set of ports of the box-valve are ready to begin to register with corresponding ports in the box-valve case as the piston moves through the second half of its travel to the right, and the ports in the box-Valve and case permit the fluidpressure to be exerted on the reverse side of the wing to th row the same toward the opposite side of the box-valve, and thus oscillate the piston.

Fig. 6 shows the position of the boxvalve and wing when the piston has completed its travel to the right and has made a full halfstroke, and at which time the'second set of ports of the boxvalve and casing are in full register' and the diametric ports of the piston are closed by the cut-olf devices, at which time the fluid-pressure against the pistonwing oscillates the piston and begins to bring its diametric ports in register with ports in the cut-off devices to admit the fluid at the right of the piston, causing the same to' begin its reverse half-stroke.

Fig. 7 shows the position of the ports when the piston has traveled one-half of its reverse movement to the left, at which time the second set of ports in the box-valve and its case have traveled out of register and remain closed until the piston has completed its reverse movement and the position of the several ports shown at Fig. 4 are again resumed.

Having explained in detail the relation of the several parts of the meter as illustrated in the several figures of the drawings, I will now describe their construction and operation.

1 is the case, formed with a suitable base 2. The upper portion of the case 1 is open, as clearly shown at Fig. 3, and its interior side walls are inclined to constitute a seat for what I denominate a box-valve 3, whose side Walls are correspondingly inclined, as shown, and which, togetherl with the two straight end walls, are cast integral with an arc-shaped top. The inclined side walls of this box-valve project slightly below the ineline side walls of the case and rest upon the cylindrical upper surface of the piston 4, located within the correspondingly-shaped portion of the case 1. The piston is provided on its upper surface with a radial Wing 5, adapted to tit between the two partitions 6 7, intermediate of the end walls of the box-valve 3, (see Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7,) and is constructed, as will be presently explained, so as to hold it in frictional contact with the partitions G and 7 and end walls of the box-valve 3.

The casing 1 above the inlet and exit connections is cast hollow, as shown, to con# stitute passages 8 9, leadingto ports 10, 11, and 12 in the inclined side Walls of the upper part of the case and which register, as will be hereinafter described, with ports 13, 14, 15, and 16 in the sides of the box-valve as the latter is reciprocated by the piston 4 through the medium of the wing 5. The wing 5, as shown in the several figures, is formed with a central kerf, in which are located two metallic packing-plates 5, provided with recesses 17 and 18, in which are located fiat springs 19 and 20, designed to hold the said plates in close contact with the partitions 6 and 7 and the curved top of the box-valve 3 to pack the same against leakage in an 0bvious manner.

Centrallyof the longitudinal length of the casing it is extended laterally, as shown at 21 22, to constitute seats for the inlet and outlet screw-nipples 23 24 and for two cut-off dei vices 25 2G, formed with axial channels or ports 27 28, and suitable packing-rings 29 are employed to make a water-tight joint between the cut-offs and case l. The inner portion of these cut-offs is arc-shaped in cross-section, as shown at Fig. 3, to contact with the cylindrical body of the piston 4 and extend a predetermined distance (longitudinally) each side of the axial channels or ports 27 28, as in dicated in dotted lines at Fig. 2, the interior rectangular dotted lines indicating the axial port of one of the cut-offs; but such ports may be of any other suitable design in cross-section. The nipple connections 23 and 24 are counterbored at the inner end to form shoulders, between which and the packing-rings 29 are located spiral springs 30 for assisting in holding the inner arc surfaces of the cut-offs always in close contact with the cylindrical surface of the piston, the area of the outer ends of the cut-offs being such that the iiuidpressure against the same acts auxiliary to the springs 30 in producing the close contact referred to. From this construction and arrangement it will be seen that the wear between the contact-surfaces of the cut-offs and the piston is always compensated for and normal and proper relation is continuously maintained.

The piston 4 is hollow, as shown at Fig. 2, with a central partition 31, through which are ICO IIO

36, opening into the opposite end of the pis p ton.

The piston 4 is provided with a central radial wrist-pin 37, with a spherical extremity adapted to be seated within a cylindrical recess 38 near the periphery of a disk or ring 39, rotatively seated in the base 2, as clearly shown atFigs. 2 and 3. This diskor ring 39 is maintained in axial relation with the base through the medium of a washer 40, having a 'at Fig. 3.

The cylindrical body of the case 3 is closed at each end by screw caps or heads 42, which are preferably formed with'a multisided recess 43, adapted to receive a suitable wrench `used for securing the heads in place or remov- .ing them when necessary. The upper rectangular portion of the case 2, which'receives and holds the box-valve, is closed by a cover f 44, secured in position by screws 45. Within the upper part of this cover are arranged the' registering disks or wheels,which are inclosed by a glass plate 46, protected by a hinged vcover 47.

In one end of the case 2 is mounted a ver- L tical shaft 48, keyed near its lower end, with a spur-wheel 49 within a suitable recess within the case.

The upper end of the shaft 48 around the shaft, as clearly shown at Fig. 2.

"A radial stud 5l projects from the periphery of the piston near one end and bears such relation to the spur-wheel 49 andthe stroke "of the piston 4 that when the latter has completedv a stroke the stud 5l will be seated between two adjacent spurs of the wheel 49, and

as the first movement of the piston in repeating its strokes is an oscillation on its axis produced by the movement of the wing 5 within the box-valve 3 the movement of the stud 51 will be sufficient to rotate the wheel 49 and its shaft 48 a predetermined distance. To the upper end of the shaft 48 is keyed a gear 52, which meshes with the primary gear 53 of the train of vregistering gears located within the cover 44.

The under side of the cover 44 is provided,

' preferably, with a rib 54, which acts auxiliary to the liquid-pressure to hold the boxvalve 3 to its bearings upon the upper face of the piston 4. f

Having described the construction and arrangement of the several parts of my vimproved meter, I will now describe .its operation. 1 Assuming that the piston is in the position shown at Fig. 2 and that the nipple 23- is connected with the supply-pipe and the flow of liquid is turned on, the diametric port 32 of the piston has its inlet and exit ends closed by thecut-ofs 25 and 26, and vlikewise the inlet .and outlet of the diametric port 33 is closed by said cut-offs, and inl this position the port 32 is just ready t-o be moved into register with the inlet connection, which is done by the oscillation of the piston through the vibration ofV the wing 5 under the pressure of the fluid against the same. The liquid under pressure passes into the port 32 of the piston, and as the exit end of this port is closed by the cut-o 26 the liquid travels from the port 32 into and through the longitudinal port 35 and between the central partition 3l of the vpiston and the head 42 of the case or cylinder 1, and consequently the piston is caused to continue on the first halt` of its stroke in the direction of the arrow'shown at Fig. 2. A portion of the supply of liquid also iiows upward through the space 8 of the upper portion of the case l, through the port 12 in the side wall, thenceV through the port 15 of the box-valve 3, and against the radial wing 5 of the piston, thus vibrating the wing toward the back wall of the box-valve, asindicated by the arrows at Fig. 4, and consequently the piston is oscillated upon its longitudinal axis a distance proportionate to the travel of the Wing-that is, when the piston has moved longitudinally a distance equal to one-quarter of its full stroke the wing-valve has completed one-half of its vibration, and the uid contained in the box in rear of the wing 5 is forced in the direction of the arrows through the ports 16 and 1l to the space 9, and to the exit through the nipple 24 and to its connection. (See Figs. 3 and 4.) The box-valve 3 being moved during this action longitudinally by the longitudinal travel of the wing 5 with the piston in IOO the direction shown by arrow at Fig. 5 the port 15 is closed, as shown at Fig. 5, and the fluid may then pass from port 12 through ythe space between the end wall of the boxvalve and the end wall of the case and over the arc-shaped top of the box-valve and each side of the longitudinal rib 54 to exert vertical pressure upon the top of the box-valve to lthe ports 10 and 13 and exerting its pressure against the Wing 5 vibrates it to the position shown at Fig. 6, and the liquid contained in v the box of the valve in front of the wing is forced :through the ports 14 and 11 to-the space 9 of the case, and thence through the exit-nipple 24. VAt the same timethat the ports l() and 1'3 are beginning and completing register to admit the liquid against the rear side of the wing, as just described, the vibration of said wing has caused the piston to 0s- IIO cillate, so as to correspondingly bring into register the opening or port 27 of the cut-off with the inlet end of the diametric port 33 of the piston, and to correspondingly bring the outlet of port 33 against the arc-shaped face ofthe cut-olf 26, so that no liquid can pass through said port to the opening or port 28 in the said cut-olf, but must travel from the diametric port 33 to its intersecting longitudinal port 3G and against the opposite end of the casing 1 to force the piston in a reverse reciprocating direction to that already described and to make the last half of its stroke. During these movements the inlet end of diametric port 32 is closed by the cut-oli:` 25, and

'the exit end of said port is registered with the liquid between the piston and the head 42 of the case is forced through the longitudinal port 36 and diametric port 33 to the port 28 and through the nipple connection 24. When the piston again starts in the direction Iirst described, the liquid contained in the case is forced through the longitudinal port 35 to the diametric port 32, the exit of which being in register with the opening or port 28 of the cut-off 26 the iluid is free to pass through the nipple connection 24. From this description it will be seen that as the piston is reciprocated in opposite directions the fluid alternately used at each end to cause such reciprocation of the piston is displaced and forced alternately through the diametric ports 32 and 33 to the delivery connection 24. The connection between the wrist-pin 37 on the piston and the disk or ring 39 steadies and makes uniform the reciprocating and oscillating movement of the piston, and to avoid the necessity for the use of buffers and the card made by the spherical end of the wrist-pin is a true circle. Hence the disk or ring 39 is revolved around its axis 41. The oscillation of the piston upon its longitudinal axis, which is caused by the vibration of the wing 5, and in View of the connection of the wrist-pin with the disk-pin 39 causes the piston to also move longitudinally a sufficient distance to roll the diametric ports of the piston into and out of register with the inlet and outlet connections and to permit the completion of such registration as the piston is reciprocated under the action of the fluid thus admitted between the central partition of the piston and the heads, respectively, of the casing.

By special reference to Fig. 3 and in view of what has been said it will be apparent that every moving part is under constant pressure, and therefore that all joints and connections are kept water-tight, that all wear is compensated for, and the proper relations of the several movable parts is always main- -tained.

It will also be observed that when for any reason the meter fails to operate as designed for registering the passage of liquid through the same the passage of any fluid through the meter at such time is positively and absolutely cut off and attention is there# by directed to the necessity of restoring it to operative condition.

The several parts are economic of construction, interchangeable, and readily1 assembled.

Many changes may be made in the mere details of construction and in the proportions or scale of the meter without departing from the genus of my invention. For instance, while I have shown and described the parallel ports as passing diametrically through the piston in order to alternately register with the inlet and outlet ports of the casing the ports passing through the piston may trend in any other direction, according to the location of the inlet and outlet ports of the casing.

Having described the construction and operation of my improved meter, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A liquid-meter consisting of a case provided with inlet and exit connections, a single reciprocating and oscillating piston having diametric ports communicating with transverse ports leading in opposite directions, means operated by the pressure of the liquid for oscillating the piston, and means intermediate of the casing and piston for auto'- matically closing the diametric ports of the piston when the same is at rest, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

2. In aliquid-meter such as described a casing having an upwardly-extended portion With interior inclined side walls with fluid passages or channels exterior thereto communicating with inlet and exit connections and having ports through the inclined sidewalls, a piston located within the cylindrical portion of the casing and with diametric and longitudinal ports therein, a radial wingconnected with the periphery of the piston, an open-bottom valve-box inclosing the radial wing of the piston and seated against the inclined side walls of the case and upon the circular body of the piston, and having ports adapted to alternately register with the ports in the inclined walls of the casing, and arcfaced cut-os arranged between the periphery of the piston and the casing and adapted to automatically cut olf the liquid-supply to the diametric ports of the piston, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a liquid-meter such as described, in combination with the casing and a piston located therein and adapted to reciprocating IOO IlO

exit passages and a reciprocating and oscillating piston located between the inlet and outlet passages of the case, and provided with diametric ports, cut-ods seated within the inlet and outlet passages and provided with central passages or ports, and an arc-shaped flange adapted to register with or close the transverse ports of the piston, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. In combination with the casing constructed as described and a reciprocating and oscillating piston provided with a radial win g, an open-bottom valve-box formed with parti,- tions adjacent to each end, trending in opposite directions to constitute passage-ways and ports l5 and 16, and provided with oppositely-dsposed ports 13 and 14, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In combination with the casing having inlet and outlet connections and vertical liquid-passages on `either side, and a port 'near one end communicatingwith the interior of the casing, a reciprocating box-'valve having a closed top and located within the casing, said box-valve being shorter than its seat in the casing, whereby the fluid may pass under pressure from the vertical passage of the casing over the top of the box-valve to hold the same down to its seat, substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

Y7. In combination with the casing provided with inlet and outlet connections and a piston located within the casing and provided with ports adapted to register with the inlet and outlet passages of the casing, cut-offs located between the casing and the piston and at the inlet and outlet passages, and adapted to automatically open and close the inlet and outlet passages of the casin g and to prevent leakage substantially as hereinbefore set forth.

8. In combination with the case provided with inlet and outlet connections and the os.- cillating and reciprocating piston, cu t-oifs 1ocated between the piston and casing and seated in the casing, and vprovided with an arcshaped flange surrounding a centralopening or port on the inner end, and an annular bearing-surface at theouter end upon which liquid-pressure may be exerted, su bstantially as and for the purpose set forth.-

9. In combination with the casing c011- structed as described, and the reciprocating and oscillating piston and cut-offs, nipple connections 23 and 24, counter-bored on the inner end, and pressure-springs 30, Substantially as and for the purpose set forth.`

l0. In combination with the casing, piston and box-valve, the radial wing 5, seated in the body of the piston and formed with central kerf, and packing-plates 52L and springs 19 and 20,substantially as and for the purpose set forth. Y

11. In combination with the casing and reciprocating and oscillating piston, a radial wrist-pin 37 secured to the piston and having its outer end located in a seat within a rotative disk or ring whereby the movements of vthe piston are steadied and the necessity for buers is avoided,substantially as described.

12. In combination with the casing and the reciprocating and oscillating piston, provided with the radial Wrist-pin 37, the disk or ring 39, the washer 40, with stem 41, and means for securing the same in position, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I afx my signature 1n presence of two witnesses.

v JAMES C. ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

D. G. STUART, JNO. J. HARROWER. 

